


A Helping Hand

by Sresla



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Best Friends, Odyssey AU, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 08:45:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17998652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sresla/pseuds/Sresla
Summary: Save the crew of the Morning Star from flying into an asteroid? Check. Uncover hidden mysteries in a dark - or at least, poorly lit  - place? Check. All part of a day's work for your trusty adventure pilot, Jinx. And Malphite. Malphite's there too. I mean, he's my best friend, why wouldn't he be there? Don’t be jealous, Fishbones, I can have more than one best friend. No, Pow-Pow, I am not going to tell you who I like more. That's like asking me to choose between... bullets and bombs. I like them all EQUALLY.





	A Helping Hand

_Dear Ordinal Ti-_

Jinx crossed it out and tapped a finger against her lower lip.

The ship’s comm crackled. “Who’s -- ship?”

The shrieking alarm and flashing red lights dimly illuminating her room made it hard to concentrate. What did he like to be called?

She stuck the end of her pencil in her ear. “Zap!” Her eyelids fluttered and her limbs began to spasm. Then, she slammed her head against the desk, shut her eyes and let her tongue loll out of her mouth, drooling onto the paper. After a moment, she sat back up, grinning. “Durr!” She wrote:

_Dear Emperor Dreamboat_

“Perfect!” she said, addressing the rocket launcher on the couch. Nicknamed ‘Fishbones’, it was mocked up to resemble a shark at its muzzle. “If he touches it here,” she held up the paper for scrutiny, pointing to the place where it was wet, “it means we kissed!” She clutched the unfinished letter to her chest, a contented smile on her face. “He’s so–“

“BY THE HORNS OF THE SPACE DEMON, WHO’S FLYING THE SHIP?!” a voice yelled from the intercom.

Tossing the paper over her shoulder, she jumped out of her chair, scrambled for the communications panel and pressed the button. “That would be me, Captain Yasuo. Your trusty pilot. Jinx.” She looked back at the rocket launcher, giving it an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“If you’re flying the ship, why does it show you’re answering me FROM YOUR CABIN?”

“Um… Probably a malfunction?” Without waiting for an answer, she released the button and ran out of the room. After a minute, she returned, breathless, grabbed the rocket launcher and ran out again.

“Phew! Crisis averted.” Fishbones now sat in the chair next to her on the bridge. Jinx fiddled with the controls and flipped the steering back on automatic. “Next time, you’re in charge instead of Pow-Pow,” she said, raising her voice so the minigun on the floor could hear her. “I know going through is always better than going around, but only with explosions.” Her eyes gleamed. “Lots of explosions.” Swiveling in her seat, she asked, “You’ve always wanted to be a pilot, right?”

Reaching over, she picked up Fishbones and jiggled the weapon so the hinged shark’s jaw opened and closed. This time, when she spoke, the pitch was deeper. “Actually, I want to become an underwater welder–“

Jinx interrupted with a snort, her voice returning to normal. “What and wear a monocle?”

“A snorkel.”

“A monocle, wot wot,” Jinx said. With her free hand she mimed drinking, pinkie raised. “Spot of gravi-tea, my good fellow.” She broke out in hysterical laughter and slapped Fishbones on its nose. “Silly! You want to be a pilot.” She leapt out of her seat and placed the rocket launcher on the navigation panel so it was staring out the _Morning Star’s_ viewport. “Just don’t listen to Pow-Pow,” she said, mouthing the words ‘bad influence’ to Fishbones behind her hand. Tossing the two weapons a cocky salute, she left.

“Hey big guy. You busy?”

Malphite looked up from the circuit board he was working on, then pointedly over at the wall’s open panels. Cables coiled outward, strewn everywhere across the engine room’s floor.

Jinx stood on her tiptoes, following his gaze. “Looks fine to me. Anyway…” She rocked back and forth on her heels, hands behind her back. “Can you come with me to the cargo bay? It’s a matter of life,” she paused for impact, “or death.”

He stared at her. He wasn’t blinking.

“Life or death for the galaxy,” she appended. She tried mimicking her best friend’s unblinking stare but it was making her left eye twitch.

It took another minute but the Monolithian eventually pushed the table back and stood up. “Okay,” he replied.

The hold was in the back of the ship. They walked down several corridors, then descended a short metal staircase. “Sure is dark in here.” Jinx trailed after Malphite, letting him lead the way.

“Uh-huh.”

She peeked around him. “Over there.”

“Going.”

Her friend stopped in front of a crate marked ‘torpedoes’.

“No, not that one.”

He shuffled over to another. It bore the legend ‘JINX ONLY!’ in neon orange letters.

“Nope.” She pointed a trembling finger at a rectangular shape shoved back against the far wall. “That one.”

Malphite trudged over and Jinx crept up behind him. It was easily as wide as the Monolithian, and almost as tall. Behind it, a power source thrummed. He gingerly pulled on the silver locking mechanism. It opened with a gentle hiss of suction, emitting a light so bright they had to shield their eyes from the glare in the darkened room. Together, they stared at the contents. Malphite looked down at her and shook his head.

“Please,” Jinx implored, opening her eyes as wide as she could and forcing the corners of her lips down for the most severely sad face she could manage.

Her best friend sighed and reached inside, withdrawing a large transparent canister. He rapped a knuckle against the edges of its lid and Jinx could hear his armored plates grind together as he applied his immense strength to the task of unscrewing it. Finally, it released with a soft pop as the vacuum seal was broken and he placed the container on the floor.

Jinx plopped down, cross-legged, and drew it towards her. She studied the jar for a few seconds, then ripped a piece of masking tape off its front. “He probably meant to write: Yasuo _and all Morning Star crew members_ , right?”

Malphite shrugged.

“Thanks buddy. You’ve got a heart of gold. Probably literally.” Jinx dipped her hand inside and withdrew a thick, oblong object. Holding it like a gun, she pointed it up at Malphite. “Pew! Pew pew! Laser pickles. Laser pistols. Get it?!”

With a nod, her best friend replied, “Got it,” and headed back up the steps, the sound of crunching and mumbled ‘pew pew’ noises providing cover for his retreat.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Never One, Without the Other contest held in in March on the EU League of Legends Fan Fiction forum. Narrative requirement was 1,000 words or less, featuring partnership as a prompt. Unlike the previous League of Legends fiction contest I entered, I did not have enough lead time to write another story about Kayn (although man, did he want me to). I did write down a few lines for it though and will stick it somewhere to expand on at a later time.
> 
> Jinx, Malphite, Yasuo and the associated AU setting, as well as other characters alluded to here belong to Riot Games.
> 
> Thank you for reading. A critique is just as valued as praise.


End file.
